STE: Sato Claus
by ZenosParadox
Summary: RS friendship, Tu. Guess who's coming to town? A prologue to the 12 Days series.


Title: Sato ClausAuthor: ZenosParadoxRating: PG  
  
Summary: RS friendship. A prologue to the Reed and Sato's experiences during the Twelve Days of Christmas.   
  
Disclaimer: The Enterprise characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.  
  
SATO CLAUS  
  
Christmas Day, 2152  
  
Day 0  
  
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed stood in the corner of the mess hall as he kept an on eye on the festivities. Chef had outdone himself for the holiday party, with the assistance of a linguist accomplice. Several times over the last three days the young ensign had been excused from her bridge duties in order to help Chef with the arrangements.   
  
Only Hoshi Sato could add that personal touch that transformed gaudy to elegant. Oddly, today Reed had seen no sign of their Communications Officer. Not that he was looking for her, he told himself as he glanced quickly at the door to see who had entered. Not Hoshi, just Ensign Williams.   
  
The crew was in happy spirits in the mess hall. They had exchanged names one week ago. Today Santa Claus would deliver the gifts, none of which could exceed half a kilo or 100 cubic centimeters in volume. This added an extra dimension of challenge to the gifts, so most of the crew resorted to handmade crafts or data cards with special programs. Reed took a moment to remember the crew's efforts to meet the Christmas deadline.  
  
-----  
  
~The Armory Officer wrapped a data card that held the schematics of an automatic feeder for Phlox's menagerie in sickbay. Their Chief Engineer, Trip Tucker, helped him design the unit and dubbed it the Critter Feeder. Tucker also promised to help with the construction.   
  
~Reed in turn helped Tucker write a program for a flight simulation for their helmsman, Ensign Travis Mayweather. The two officers were also in high demand for help with gifts among the other crewmembers. Tucker thus dubbed them Santa's Elves. Reed was not amused. Was the Commander casting aspersions on his height?  
  
~Given their success, the two friends were chagrined when they were stumped at helping Mayweather put together a Vulcan calendar for T'Pol. It became obvious that they needed help from their linguist. Reed knew he was on her Kill-Him-Later list, but Tucker had insisted Reed be the one to ask Sato and pulled rank on him.   
  
~So Reed called upon Sato for her help at his first opportunity. Actually, it was more like at midnight after a long shift. Reed hoped Sato was too sleepy to pull a phase pistol on him; her targeting had really improved over the year. Reed noticed Sato was wearing a familiar blue t-shirt, but thought it best to ignore this when she sighed and agreed to help. They stayed up all night working on the project, but had the program ready for Travis by breakfast.  
  
~Reed smiled as he remembered the way he and Tucker had argued with T'Pol about the colors on a bracelet the Vulcan wove for Sato. The Lieutenant had insisted on red, like the outfit Hoshi wore on their trip down to Risa. Hoshi looked stunning in red. Green, Tucker had said. The argument had been settled when Porthos ran off with the green thread. Red it was.  
  
~Next the Elves helped Phlox develop the perfect Porthos collar for Captain Jonathan Archer, one that gave a cheese alert. No claxon, though, sighed Reed.   
  
~The big mystery was whose name the Captain had gotten, but Reed was in on that one. Archer wrapped a data card that had an access code to a stash of fine Kentucky bourbon. It would be in the hands of Commander Tucker come Christmas Day. All in all, everyone should be satisfied with their gift.   
  
-----  
  
Reed sighed as the memories of the past week slipped away. He realized no one he was becoming close to had gotten his name. All senior officers were accounted for. He assumed Sato had gotten Chef since she had asked Reed about the best way to sharpen cutlery in the galley.   
  
The Lieutenant predicted he would get a picture of a torpedo or a phase cannon. He sat in a recently vacated chair as his glum thoughts darkened his spirits. Reed was jolted out of his musings when he heard his elfish accomplice.  
  
Commander Tucker had begun singing, just a bit too exuberantly, "She's making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice, Sato Claus is coming to town..."  
  
Reed thought his friend must be slightly inebriated to have made that error until he saw her for himself. He was expecting Santa to have a long white beard and a big round belly. Instead, there stood Hoshi Sato bedecked in a tantalizing red outfit. She certainly looked good in red!  
  
Yes, the boots were black and tall, yes, the outfit was lined with white fur, but the red miniskirt she wore didn't cover much of her well-toned thighs. And the little round belly? Forget that. No, the skirt was riding low on her hips and her little red jacket was bolero cut, so that one had a healthy glimpse of a very sexy tummy and navel from the bare midriff. To top it all off, the Ensign had the Santa hat atop her head at a cocky angle as her silky black hair hung loosely over her shoulders.   
  
The outfit was a hit as Sato Claus delivered all the little presents in her bag. Reed told himself to quit craning his neck whenever she would bend over to search in her bag for the next gift to deliver. Luckily, Sato's Elves, in the form of Ensign Cutler and Ensign Kelley, were there to help find the presents. Still, it was obvious that Sato Claus had a nice bum.  
  
In the meantime, Tucker was ambushing different couples by holding mistletoe over their heads. This included Porthos and T'Pol, who had to endure a lick from the puppy. The Vulcan merely quirked her eye brow at the Commander, but the look was enough to send Tucker scurrying away to wreak havoc on the other side of the room, the side that Reed thought would be safe from such machinations.  
  
But, no, his friends had other ideas. Reed noticed the Sato Claus herself was approaching him looking quite jolly and bright. He could swear he heard men whistling at her. In her hand was a slim, brightly wrapped package. It was the last one to be delivered and Reed looked at her apprehensively.   
  
At that point two things simultaneously happened. Mayweather stepped back and bumped into Sato, sending her tumbling onto Reed's lap. Then Tucker, ever the opportunistic elf, took three giant strides to hold the mistletoe over Reed and Sato with a triumphant grin.  
  
"Gotta give Sato Claus a kiss, Malcolm," he taunted. This was perfect! Trip just loved Malcolm's look of panic.   
  
Reed was completely flustered, then had to grab a trim thigh with one hand as Sato began sliding off his lap. Her arms came up around him, his other arm came around her waist.  
  
Sato had a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she said, "Traditions, Lieutenant. Got to uphold traditions."   
  
She thought she'd just give him a quick peck on the cheek. He looked so adorable when he was blushing! And he deserved to be embarrassed after his comments on her cooking!   
  
Reed turned his head slightly with the intention of making a comment on fraternization. Instead, the result was that the quick peck on the cheek turned into lip-to-lip contact. Reed felt her soft lips under his and barely registered her hand sliding across his chest. They broke off when everyone around began cheering, led by the elfish engineer.   
  
Sato blinked quickly, Reed blinked quickly, then she gracefully slipped off his lap and took a bow saying, "Obviously the Lieutenant has been a VERY good boy this year. Now back off, boys, Santa needs something to drink."  
  
At that point several men jumped to the refreshment table and crowded around the most popular Santa on any starship. The Sato Elves quickly surrounded their fearless leader to make sure the jolly mood didn't get out of hand.  
  
Captain Archer looked like he was having a grand time seeing his crew merry and bright, although the Porthos kiss to T'Pol had been the highlight of the party for him. He noticed T'Pol was now making her way toward Tucker. Yeah, he'd better go protect his Chief Engineer.  
  
In the meantime, Reed simply sat, still stunned by what had happened. Santa wasn't supposed to be sexy! Then he realized she had slipped something into his pocket.  
  
As Sato Claus got her cup of wassail, she looked over to her victim. He was gone. Just like that. Sato put the bright smile back on her face.  
  
----  
  
In the armory, Lieutenant Reed placed the bright gift box on the table and inspected it closely. It was from Hoshi Sato. Oh no!   
  
He remembered too well his unexpected glimpse of her assets during the Suliban take-over and, worse, his remarks about her cooking when they had been affected by the radiation field. What could she have put in the package?  
  
Reed picked up the gift carefully and judged its weight. It was light, so it couldn't be a disassembled phase pistol.   
  
Lump of coal? Wrong shape, too thin.   
  
Broom switches? Not her style, too vulgar.   
  
Booby-trapped perhaps? Yes, that must be it. Tucker had been just a bit too merry at the party. Obviously he and Mayweather had been in on the tactical maneuver to embarrass him with Sato.   
  
Reed took out a scanner and was vaguely disappointed. Nothing unusual. Reed crossed his arms over his chest and stared, willing the box to give up its secrets, but to no avail.  
  
Alright, then, this was it. He had to open the box.   
  
Malcolm gently tugged at the ribbon and noticed it carried Hoshi's perfume. He smiled slightly, then took a deep breath before he removed the lid.  
  
He pushed back the tissues and saw the picture: the Senior staff of the Enterprise. He remembered when the photograph had been taken, but the unique aspect of the gift was the frame. It was hand-painted and each side carried a Japanese character. He touched the frame and outlined the symbols. What could they mean?  
  
His question was soon answered by the linguist herself. "Lieutenant, are you--I mean, ahem, about that kiss in the mess hall?"  
  
Hoshi just let her voice die out when she saw his expression. There was a tenderness in Malcolm's eyes that she had seen a few times, the latest being when she had survived that minor glitch with the transporter. Perhaps she didn't have anything to apologize for after all.  
  
"What do the characters mean?" asked the Lieutenant in a quiet voice.  
  
The Ensign drew closer and stood by his side, reaching out to lightly touch the frame as she pointed to each character. "Faith, trust, hope, friendship. I noticed when I was in your quarters during the Suliban take-over that you didn't have any pictures. I know you don't like clutter, but--"  
  
"No, no, this is--it's not clutter. Thank you, Hoshi. I feel so--this is really a nice gesture, especially since I haven't done much for you lately," said Malcolm with a bit of exasperation. How was it that she always bested him?  
  
Hoshi smiled as she quoted, "One, two, three, you can do it, Ensign."  
  
Malcolm looked at her quizzically. Those were the words he had used when she had been caught in the transporter glitch a few months ago. He had almost forgotten.  
  
"I translate that to mean Faith, Hope, Trust, and Friendship in armory lingo, Lieutenant." Hoshi smiled.  
  
"You may well be right. Thank you, Ensign." Malcolm stood awkwardly for a moment. "Um, would you care to go back to the party?"  
  
"I think I'd like that. The Commander just accessed the stash of bourbon from the Captain. I think there'll be a lot of good cheer tonight."  
  
----  
  
That night, Malcolm Reed dreamt about Santa Claus, a very atypical Santa with a sexy red suit.   
  
The twelve days of Christmas would begin. Twelve days until the Epiphany. That was another appropriate time for a gift exchange. Twelve days. A lot could happen in twelve days.   
  
*****  
  
Author Notes: Mild spoilers for Shockwave2, Singularity, Vanishing Point. 3 pages. Written December 1, 2002, and posted at LD. You can find a nice photomanip of Sato Claus with Reed designed by Mnemonsyne23 at http://www.lingdata.net/images/ent_sato_claus.jpg, the fan art archive at Linguistics Database.  
  
This serves as a prologue for the Twelve Days series, four episodes that I'll post over the next four days. Hope this story and its companions boost the Christmas spirit.  
  
Thanks for reading. Reviews are not necessary. I appreciate your taking the time to read during this frantic holiday season. 


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